Boy Meets Girl
by wubbalubbanoobnoob
Summary: A new girl arrives at Morty's high school, making his life a little more interesting.
1. Chapter 1

It started out as just another boring day. Listening to Mr. Goldenfold drone on and on in math, hearing Principal Vagina's routine monologue over the speakers and seeing Rowdy stick gum under his desk all seemed to be part of the daily grind at Morty's high school. It was starting to really get to him.

 _'Why do I keep wanting Rick to let me spend time at school again?'_ The teen pondered, softly tracing his finger along a deeply etched scratch in his desk.

Of course, he already knew the answer to that. As long as his parents were appeased with him attending school, the adventures with his grandpa could continue.

Morty sighed and found himself hoping for another one of Rick's improvised grand entrances as a way to take him out of class. Disappointment settled in more than halfway through math class when it dawned on him that wasn't happening today.

So far, today's only upside-

"Hi Morty," Jessica greeted with a warm smile as she passed him by at the lockers.

"O-oh, hi Jessica," he replied with his own sheepish smile as he grabbed his books.

 _'Holy shit, she never says anything first.'_

Jessica had been almost completely ignoring Morty lately, even after he'd been returned to normal after having his toxicity removed. His date night with her during the time he was 'detoxed' hadn't gone very well and he supposed that was a factor in her distancing herself. Jessica had said only one positive thing to Morty after he got back to being himself. He'd been fairly certain she wouldn't acknowledge him again, so this was a good change.

"Maybe she'll give me another chance," he quietly whispered. He surely wouldn't blow it the second time around if so.

Clutching his books, Morty walked into history class with a little more spring in his step and took his usual seat in the back. He couldn't help but smile a little at the small, yet productive, progress made between him and Jessica.

His attention shifted to Mrs. Barclay, the new history teacher, as she entered the classroom.

"Hello everyone," she stated cheerfully.

Mrs. Barclay had quickly become Morty's favorite teacher immediately after she'd arrived. He always found himself very attentive while being in his two favorite classes -history and science-, but the new teacher made him even more so in her class.

Unlike Goldenfold and some of his other teachers who typically just skimmed through Morty's schoolwork, Mrs. Barclay always paid close attention to his responses in written essays and provided the teen with great feedback.

"If you could all please open up to chapter seven-"

"Excuse me, class," Principal Vagina's voice suddenly interrupted as he peeked his head in through the doorway. "Can I have your undivided attention please?"

All eyes were on him as he walked in and held the door open expectantly.

An unfamiliar girl strolled in and smiled at the students as she stood up front.

"This is Bailey Stevens," the principal continued in an unenthusiastic tone. "She's come to us from Oregon. Please make her feel welcome. Thank you."

Just like that, he left as quickly as he had appeared and made everyone, including Bailey, look back in his direction with confusion.

Morty blinked, surprised. A new girl? Well this just made the day way more interesting.

"Welcome, Bailey," Mrs. Barclay addressed the girl as she stood beside her. She gestured to the rest of the class. "Feel free to find a seat."

Morty saw Bailey's eyes immediately dart to the back of the room as she scanned for open seats there. Spotting one to Morty's left, she thanked the teacher and made her way back.

 _'Why would she want to come back here?_ ' Morty thought curiously, watching as she came toward him.

A couple boys in the class kept their eyes glued to her as she passed them by with lovey-dovey looks in their eyes. Morty averted his gaze to his desk as she passed by him and took the next seat over. He wanted to say hello but couldn't find the words- or the confidence.

Mrs. Barclay already began writing on the board at the front, but Morty wasn't paying attention.

As Bailey took a moment to observe her surroundings, Morty chanced a quick look at her. She had wavy light brown hair that cut off at her shoulders. He also saw that she was wearing a heart-shaped necklace, a detail he hadn't caught earlier.

As he looked away from Bailey, Morty spotted one of the boys near the front staring at him with a smirk. He leaned over to whisper to his friend, who cast a glance at Morty before the two boys began snickering.

Morty sighed, now feeling incredibly insecure as he looked back in the teacher's direction. He felt so embarrassed he wanted to crawl into a deep, dark hole and never be seen again. No doubt they believed Morty didn't stand a chance in getting the new girl to like him. Even Morty started to think he didn't.

 _'What does it matter? She'll probably wind up with a jock jerk like Brad anyway. Pretty girls always do. At least there's still Jessica. Maybe..._ '

"Excuse me? Excuse me?"

"Hmm?" Morty's thoughts were quickly interrupted and he looked over to see Bailey looking at him with an inquiring yet nervous expression. He scrunched his eyebrows quizzically.

"I'm sorry, I- I forgot my pen in my locker when I grabbed my books. Do you have one I could borrow?"

Morty looked down at his own pen on his desk, currently being unused. He doubted he'd be taking any notes today, seeing as his train of thought kept shifting and he couldn't really focus on anything at the moment.

"Um, y-yeah sure." He handed it to her and she smiled gratefully.

"Thank you," she practically whispered before tuning in to the teacher's lesson.

She had such an adorable smile in that moment. Morty turned his head the other way and pretended to look around him in a desperate attempt to hide his cheeks blushing.

He hadn't felt quite like this for another girl other than Jessica. Sure, he'd liked other girls such as Annie from Anatomy Park inside "Old Man" Rueben, or Arthrisha from the purging planet (once his anger at her stealing the ship had ebbed). But with Jessica his feelings had always been a bit stronger than they were with any of the others. Now, it seemed, he was already starting to feel the same way for Bailey.

 _'Snap out of it, Morty!'_ He internally yelled at himself. _'She's only spoken to you once and it was to ask for a freaking pen. Don't expect anything more from her._ '

He knew he was pretty girl crazy but this was getting downright ridiculous. Before he knew it, the bell rang and he swiftly got out of his seat and collected his books.

"Oh hey. Here's your-" Bailey held out her classmate's pen in an effort to get his attention. But he was already heading to the door and didn't seem to hear her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2  
**

Students flooded the hallways and booked it to the cafeteria as the bell rang the following day. Ah, the good old cafeteria- where all the various, cliché types of cliques got together each day and shunned everyone who wasn't in their 'club'. Morty's favorite part of the school day.

Jocks gathered at one table, all hyped up about the upcoming football game. Some nerdy-looking boys sat down at one table and pulled out Dungeons vs. Dragons. A bunch of pretty girls flocked to one table in the middle of the cafeteria, most likely talking about boys and makeup.

Morty had usually received not-so-friendly looks from his peers when he attempted to sit at any of these tables in the past. So, naturally, he resorted to eating at a secluded table in the corner of the cafeteria. It wasn't so bad there, and he'd occasionally be joined by a loner kid named Nigel who would sit on the opposite end of him.

' _Well, any company is better than no company,_ ' he found himself thinking as he looked over at Nigel, who kept his head down as he ate, never making eye contact with Morty.

In all the times they sat at the same table together, neither one had tried to strike up a conversation with the other. This hadn't bother Morty in the past, maybe the kid was just more reserved like him. But now he started to realize that this was his chance at possibly making a new friend at school for once. It could be that Nigel was also looking for a friend and he was just as nervous to start a conversation as Morty was.

Setting his fork down, Morty pondered what he should say to start talking with the other kid. Then he cleared his throat and leaned forward to address Nigel.

"H-hey, you-"

"Pardon me," a small voice suddenly chimed in from beside Morty.

"Ah!" Morty jumped with a startled yelp as he turned to see the new girl, Bailey, seated beside him, eyes widened slightly in response to his outburst.

' _Where the hell did she come from?'_

"Uh, hi…" was all Morty could manage to say in response as he tried to slow his frantically beating heart. He glanced warily over at Nigel, who, in mid-bite of his sandwich, looked between Morty and Bailey with confusion and surprise before picking up his lunch tray and leaving them alone.

"God, can I not eat in peace and quiet anywhere around here?" Nigel mumbled as he left.

Morty sighed; so much for the idea of gaining Nigel as a new friend. Now he was just with the girl he thought he was going crazy over only yesterday. He kept his gaze off her as he slightly blushed like he had the day before, mostly from embarrassment at his outburst this time around.

It felt like he had been put in the hotseat all of a sudden, and he couldn't even turn to look her in the eye again. What could she want with _him_ anyway when there were so many other people in the room that were more of her type? Didn't she want to go and sit with the cool kids like other normal new students wanted to do after starting over at a new school?

"Umm, I'm sorry for sneaking up on you. I didn't mean to freak you out, I just wanted to give this back." She held a sleek, black pen out in front of his face, catching him off guard.

"Oh."

It was the pen he'd given her yesterday in class… and she had actually held onto it for him. He forgot he even gave it to her. Taking the pen, he looked back at her with a gracious smile.

"Th-thanks for that."

She grinned back. "Anytime! Oh, and my name's Bailey by the way."

"Hi, I'm Morty."

"Nice to meet you, Morty." To his surprise, Bailey made herself more comfortable beside him as she dug into her backpack and pulled out a sacked lunch.

' _She… she wants to sit here?'_

After briefly glancing around the cafeteria, Morty cleared his throat awkwardly. "W-wouldn't you rather sit at a table with, uh, more kids you can talk to?"

She emptied her sandwich and chips onto the table. "No, not really. I usually tend to keep to myself." She looked at Morty and then said with a smile, "Or sometimes I find kids who are quieter than others and I stick with them. They usually make good company."

Morty smiles at this statement. Looks like he's gotten his wish of attaining a new friend. He hopes he's able to keep her around.

"So, where'd you come here from?" He asked curiously.

"North Bend in Oregon. It was starting to get pretty dull there so it's, uh, it's nice to take a break from there for a while. I sort of needed a change and…" She trailed off.

"Gosh, that's cool. I wish I could take a break from this place sometimes too, you know?" Morty replied with a small laugh as he continued eating.

Bailey muttered a response of some sort, something in her voice sounding off. Morty looked up from his plate to see her staring straight ahead, completely zoning out.

"Bailey? You OK?" He inquired, leaning toward her. A few more seconds passed and Morty reached out, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Hmm?" She pulled herself out of her daze and turned to look back at him. He was staring intently at her, worry as clear as day on his face. There was an intense look in her eyes that quickly faded as she gazed at him. It was replaced by an almost unreadable expression, though Morty thought he saw a flicker of relief.

"O-oh, yeah, sorry about that. I was just… thinking. It's fine, don't worry about it." She quickly resumed eating, apparently unfazed.

Morty paused, uncertain. She didn't seem fine and looked like she had some issues on her mind, but he felt he shouldn't press her about it. They'd only just gotten acquainted and it really wasn't any of his business anyway.

There was just something about the distant and haunted look in her eyes as she had spaced that weirded Morty out. Nevertheless, he decided to put Rick's advice of 'don't think about it' to use in this case. It'll work itself out, right?

Switching gears, Morty decided to change the topic. "So, uh, which class do you have after lunch?"

She fished a folded-up piece of paper out of her pocket and took a peek.

"Looks like it's math."

"Me too," he quickly responded. Then he noted her frown. "I take it you're not a fan of math?"

"Nope. I mean, it's tolerable, but it's definitely not my favorite."

Morty laughed. "Yeah, same here. My best subjects here have to be history and science."

Bailey looked at him with an excited smile. "Science is my favorite!"

Morty returned her smile, already sensing this was the start of a great friendship. That's when the next bell rang, prompting the two of them to stand.

"Walk with me to math class?" Bailey asked.

"Yeah sure," Morty replied, feeling like he was on Cloud 9 now that he had finally gained a new friend.

...

As the school day came to an end, Morty stored his books in his locker. Thankfully, it was Friday and he didn't have any homework for the weekend – a very rare occurrence for him.

He looked over at the furthest end of the lockers and spotted Jessica talking with a couple friends. The girls parted ways with her and Jessica began walking in Morty's direction. Morty waited beside his locker to see if Jessica would say anything to him or if she would even notice him once more.

When nothing was said as she passed by, Morty sighed. Not even a look. Guess that second chance from her was never meant to be. Maybe their brief interaction yesterday was a fluke. He shook his head, feeling dumb for even thinking he had another shot with her.

Morty started toward the school doors and saw Bailey standing off to the side as she slipped her books into her red, bulky backpack. Straightening up, she caught sight of Morty and waved. The newfound friends went outside and stopped just as they descended the steps.

"Which way you goin'?" Morty asked.

"Actually my grandma is coming to get me," she replied. "She doesn't live far from here so she shouldn't be too long."

A sudden honk turned their attention to a small red sports car waiting nearby. A pink-shirted girl with her blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail waved out the window.

"Morty, come on. It's time to go!"

"Be right there, Summer!" Morty turned back to Bailey. "My sister just got a new car, and she gets kind of pissed off when she has to wait so I-I should probably go. See you Monday?"

"I will definitely see you Monday." Then she added jokingly," Thank you so much for putting up with me today."

"No problem, it's been great," Morty stated with a smile. "Thanks for coming to sit with me at lunch."

"Of course! You know, I don't quite know how to explain it but I… I just felt so comfortable sitting down and talking with you. I don't normally get that comfortable so quickly with other people, so I'm taking that as a very good sign. I'm really happy we've become friends."

"I am too."

She handed Morty a folded piece of paper. Before he could open it, Summer honked the car horn once again.

"Ok. See you, Bailey!" Morty started speed walking toward his sister's car.

"See ya!"

"Who was that?" Summer asked as Morty hopped into the passenger seat.

"A new friend," was all Morty responded with. He didn't want his sister making it a big deal.

"Oohh, a new 'girlfriend', huh?" Summer joked, nudging him with her elbow.

Morty playfully nudged back with a snicker, then opened the crumbled-up paper Bailey gave him. She'd left a cell phone number on it and wrote 'Text me sometime, let's chat more.'

He saved her number in his phone and smiled, excited to see what would come next for him and his new friend.

...

Bailey watched Morty and his sister drive away, feeling content.

Maybe things were finally starting to look up for her after all. She's already made a new friend and they seemed to hit it off pretty quickly. Sure, things may have started off awkwardly in the cafeteria, but it all worked out.

' _In the cafeteria…'_ Her thought process took an unexpected turn. Frowning, she found herself reflecting on what had happened during lunch and the way she'd acted.

She has been trying so hard not to let herself think about the incident. Once she was on the subject of her hometown, though, she just couldn't stop it. She'd suddenly envisioned everything laid out in front of her again, as though that nightmarish event from over a year ago happened just yesterday. She'd felt her heart beat rapidly and the familiar sense of terror building up… until Morty drew her out of her thoughts, thankfully.

Bailey shook her head, trying to clear her mind. She wanted desperately for those memories to leave her alone, but she also knew deep down that they would never truly go away no matter how hard she tried to bury them.

Her grandmother pulled up in front of her. Sighing, Bailey opened the passenger door.

"Hi, grandma."

"Hi, honey," the older woman responded with a smile. "How'd your day go?"

"It was good for the most part, but… it happened again."


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3:

…

"Morty, don't you ever get off of that thing?"

The teen looked up from his seat at the table. His mom was watching him with a raised eyebrow, looking from him to the phone in his hand.

Morty wondered how long he'd been focused on his phone. But if his untouched dinner plate and the rest of the family's plates being half empty were any indication, then it's been a while.

"Yeah, yoU'RE about as bad as your sister now, Morty," Rick stated with a burp from the kid's left, not even bothering to look up from the meal he was eating. "May-maybe even worse."

Morty quickly shoved his phone into his pocket. His eyes met Summer's from across the table and she smirked knowingly at him. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"You guys, leave him be," she addressed the rest of the family. "Can't a guy just text with his girlfriend in peace?"

The sound of silverware being dropped on everyone's glass plates filled the air as there was a brief moment of stunned silence from the family.

Both Beth and Jerry snapped their heads toward Summer in disbelief.

"What?" They asked in unison.

Morty's eyes widened as he stared at his sister, his cheeks reddening instantly as his parents turned toward him.

Hearing what sounded like laughter mixed with choking, Morty turned to see Rick coughing as he hit his chest a couple times before he resumed laughing.

"So, did you finally land Jessica, Morty? Or did you find yourself having to downgrade?"

Rick received an irritated glare from his grandson.

"Eh, it's-it's not like there was a lot of good choices at that facility to begin with," Rick stated with a shrug before shoveling more food into his mouth.

The teen opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Jerry's shrill and confused questioning.

"Wait, back up. A girlfriend, Morty? Why haven't we heard of this?"

Morty put his hands up defensively as he spoke up.

"N-no, no, no, dad. She's not really my girlfriend. Summer's just exaggerating, as usual," he glared at Summer, who rolled her eyes. "She's just a new girl at school and, well, we've already become good friends."

"Oh cool," Beth said with a sweet smile. "So, does this friend who's a girl have a name?"

"Bailey."

"Won't last," Rick casually threw in as he continued eating.

"We're going to hang out some more after school Monday," Morty went on. "So, you won't have to hang around to give me a ride home, Summer. I can- I'll find another ride home."

"Ok," Summer responded nonchalantly, now looking down at her own phone.

"Oh come on, you two," Jerry said, looking between his two kids in frustration. "No more phones at the table!"

…

Morty laid on his bed the next morning, letting out a soft laugh as he continued to converse with Bailey.

 _What do you think of Harry Herpson High? Kind of a dump huh? Lol_

 _You should've seen my last school - now THAT was a real dump haha,_ she texted him back. _Harry Herpson is somewhat of an upgrade, if you can believe that. At least this place doesn't have fights breaking out in the hallway every day or teachers who are constantly threatening to quit due to their students -eye roll-._

"Mmm, fair," Morty agreed as he read. Then he reflected on the incident in math class yesterday he'd almost forgotten about and shot a quick message right back.

 _True, though I'm pretty sure Goldenfold is on the verge of walking out on us in the middle of class on of these days haha. If how he reacted with Rowdy eating in class was any red flag._

Morty's phone lit up almost immediately after with her response.

 _To be honest, they both seem like they have some serious issues lol. Maybe they can even sit down and work through their problems together hahaha_

Morty laughed heartily, not hearing his bedroom door open.

"Yeesh, still glued to that thing I see."

Morty finally took his eyes off the screen to see an amused Rick standing by his door, taking a swig from his flask. "Still talking to... what's her name, Daisy? Imp-burp-ressive, Morty. Pretty sure this is the most I've ever seen you chat with a girl without being rejected."

"Her name is _Bailey_ , Rick," Morty corrected him, unable to mask his own amusement at his grandfather's name blunder. "She-she's fun to talk to and we've just been trying to get to know each other some more."

"Ooo la la," The old man responded. "Well, you can screw around with her later. I need your help getting supplies for an experiment I want to give a try."

Morty frowned, raising his eyebrow curiously. "Didn't you say you were meeting up with an old buddy of yours today?"

"Yeah, I did say that," Rick stated matter-of-factly after taking another drink from his flask. "But plans have changed, Morty, and now I'm saying there's a more important task we gotta take care of today."

Morty glanced down at his phone as it buzzed with a new message. He really wanted to stick around and keep talking with Bailey, but knew that wasn't really an option at this point.

"Alright," was all he said to Rick, who was busy typing coordinates into his portal gun.

He peeked at Bailey's new text.

 _So what're some things you do for fun? I like to go camping and hiking whenever I can, those have always been favorites of mine._

Morty paused. He could be upfront and honest, explaining that he has a scientist grandfather who takes him on insane adventures out in space. Most of those excursions end up with both Rick and himself getting chased and nearly eaten, but some of them turn out to be fairly fun. Do those adventures count as fun activities to list?

Sometimes Morty does wish he could just go do things such as hiking and camping - things any other families would consider as normal and fun activities. But his family is truly unlike other families. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing though.

 _'If I do tell her about Rick and our adventures, she might find me weird and not want to hang out around me,'_ he thought with a small sigh.

"Alright, let's go, M-Morty!" Rick called out as he opened up a portal along the wall.

Morty nodded to him before quickly typing up a message to send back to Bailey.

"Ugh! I'm not getting any younger over here," Rick said, rolling his eyes in annoyance and gesturing Morty toward the portal. "Daisy will still be there when you get back."

"Yeah, I'm comin'," Morty set his phone down and rolled out of bed, joining Rick at the portal's entrance.

"Again, it's Bailey - not Daisy!"

"Don't care," Rick responded with disinterest before walking into the portal.

Morty groaned with irritation before following his grandpa through.

…

Bailey sat on her grandmother's sofa, munching on popcorn as she and her grandma watched a movie.

Her phone buzzed a couple minutes after she'd sent her last text to Morty: _What are some things you like to do for fun?_

She glanced down at her screen curiously.

 _I don't really get out that much. I'm kinda more of a homebody. I mostly like movies and video games._

Bailey smiled. It's been a while since she's played any video games but she's been wanting to play them more ever since she moved.

 _Oh cool! I've been wanting to get back to playing more games myself. We need to play some together one of these days, that'd be fun!_

Bailey pondered for a second on whether she should suggest a hike to Morty. He'd said he was a homebody, but maybe he hadn't really had anyone to go do other activities with. Maybe she could bring out a more adventurous side of him if she tried.

 _And if you ever do feel up for going on a hike, let me know. Believe it or not, I found a few trails around the area just after I got here and there are some really cool ones. I'd be happy to show you them sometime and would sure love the company!_

...

 **Hey guys, sorry it's been a while. Had a lot going on but I'm getting more into my writing and will have some more your way shortly as I know this section was a little shorter! Thanks! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4:**

"Bye, hun," Bailey's grandmother called out.

"Bye, grandma. I love you," The girl responded as she closed the passenger door behind her, heading toward Harry Herpson High School.

The brick, plain building reminded her of her previous school in Oregon. She remembered standing outside that building at this time last year, her parents telling her to have a great first day, her mother placing a gentle hand on her shoulder...

Bailey shook her head and clutched her heart necklace, refusing to let old memories get her down. Now was not the time for that. Now was the perfect time to push forward and hope for the best possible future for herself here in this new place.

It's a good thing she's already off to a great start. She was liking her new school, classes, and she certainly liked the fact that someone at the school had started taking a liking to her so quickly. Nothing was better than gaining a new friend right off the bat after starting somewhere new after all.

She was so lost in thought that she almost didn't see the boy in front of her, smiling warmly as he held the door open for her.

"Oh! Hey, Morty!"

"H-hey! It looked like you might run into the door any second so I thought I'd get it for you."

Bailey laughed. "Thanks. Guess it would've served me right for not paying attention."

"Yeah, I've actually run into the door a c-couple times myself so I get it," He chuckled.

"You goofball!" Bailey joked before entering the building with him.

...

The rest of the school day went by rather quickly. Before they knew it, Morty and Bailey were strolling out of the school entrance as their classmates chattered excitedly all around them in various clusters.

"So, uh, what did you have in mind for something to do?" Morty inquired.

"I was thinking of maybe going to the nearby bowling and pizza place I passed by with my grandma a couple times. I think it's like a ten minute walk from here. I don't recall the name of it but I'm sure you've been there, right?"

"There's a bowling alley near here?" Morty asked, his eyes widened in surprise.

Bailey looked back at him with shock. "Really? That place has a big old bowling ball hanging over it with one just as big, if not bigger, pizza sign on top of that ball. I didn't think anyone could possibly miss that place."

And then it finally hit Morty - Orion's Pizza!

Beth hardly ever took Morty and Summer to school from the direction Orion's was located because it was the longer route from home. But, on a couple rare occasions when road work was taking place on their usual trek, they had driven by the bowling alley up on the corner of 9th and Stevenson.

Morty never really paid much attention to the building itself, however, because his eyes were too busy gazing at the busty, beautiful servers going in and out of the vicinity to attend to customers. At that time, he didn't care too much about what that place actually was - he just liked what he was seeing.

"W-well, I am known to not be very observant at times so may-maybe I just missed seeing it, or -", Morty trailed off, trying extremely hard to think of another reason.

Bailey raised a curious eyebrow at him as he paused. Morty swallowed hard. Surely she must think he's some kind of idiot now, just like everyone else.

"And I've never really been much of a bowler myself, so, uh..."

 _Great!_ Bring on the usual responses he got for this type of situation. _"Are you really that stupid?" "You're such an idiot, Morty! Can't believe you don't know that."_ He could hear it all now and mentally braced himself for the worst.

"Hey, it's OK! I get it. You've just never really noticed there's a pizza place there," Bailey quickly interjected to reassure him, bringing him out of his negative thoughts. "Just like I never noticed for the longest time that there was a taco truck only three streets away from where I lived and I'd lived there forever." She let out a small, self-conscious laugh before continuing. "We're all a bit unobservant at times, Morty. It's alright, no big deal."

Morty blinked at her, slightly stunned. Not the sort of response he was expecting. No rejection, no harsh criticism - for once. This was a bit different for him and it... felt nice.

He laughed a little nervously, "Yeah, I-I guess you're right. It is no biggie. Well, I'm up for bowling if that's what you want to do."

Bailey grinned back at him. "Great! Time for this girl to score some turkeys!" She fist pumped excitedly into the air before turning to lead the way.

Morty paused a moment, eyeing her incredulously as she turned away. "What the hell does bowling have to do with turkeys?" He whispered to himself as he followed. He sighed quietly, he really had no business going bowling.

...

Orion's Pizza was actually pretty big on the inside, with a spacious arcade set up in the far back. There were seating areas both inside and outside where servers brought out drinks and food.

Morty's cheeks reddened as he stared at a couple of the female servers going to and fro. He tensed up and averted his gaze as one of them passed by Bailey and himself. Glancing over at Bailey, Morty saw that she was too busy looking around to have noticed him staring. He exhaled in relief.

Currently, there were only a few bowling lanes being used up at the time, which both Bailey and Morty found ideal. After ordering a medium sized pizza, the two walked over to their lane close to the entrance, bowling shoes in hand.

"You know, my family and I used to have bowling nights all the time," Bailey said as she put her shoes on, her eyes appearing to have a far off, reminiscent look in them. "It was one of our favorite pastimes. Well, that and getting stuck in the mud when we went on drives." She snickered.

Morty looked up at her curiously as he put his own pair of shoes on. He'd noticed that she spoke of her family mostly in the past tense. Did she just leave them behind to come stay with her grandma? Did something happen with them? Did they...?

He cleared his throat. "And... h-how long ago was that?" He asked cautiously. "Since you guys last enjoyed bowling, I mean."

He saw her frown slightly, the pleasant, nostalgic look in her eyes changing. "It's... it's been a while."

Morty swallowed, sensing where this was going. But, despite his gut feeling to quit prying, his curiosity about them was definitely getting the best of him right now.

"So, are they back in Oregon? It was Bend, Oregon, right? That was your home?"

Bailey sighed, looking sad. "Yeah, it was Bend. And no, they aren't back there. Well, I mean, technically I guess they are but-" She shook her head quickly and then began typing hers and Morty's name into the screen to set their game up.

"Um, so like, are they-"

"Morty, can we not talk about this right now? I'd really like to just play." Her shoulders slumped.

"Ok, alright, yeah. S-sorry, I-I was just-"

"I know," She spoke softly as she turned back to him. "Just curious. Makes sense." She sighed heavily and looked away from him. She looked thoughtful for a few moments, as if she were debating on something, before she closed her eyes.

"About a year ago, my parents and I were in an accident. We were heading out of town and- and there was a truck that ran a red light, and... Well I didn't have any other relatives living in the area so I came to stay here with my grandma after that."

Morty stared back at her in horror. "Aw geez! I'm s-so sorry, Bailey. I shouldn't have even asked."

"No, it's OK. I just... I do my best to not even think about that night. Sometimes I-I can't help it and I wind up seeing them like-." She inhaled a shaky breath. "But I work on pushing those thoughts out and only focus on remembering all of our good times. That's what matters, seeing them smiling at me when I close my eyes and focus on how they were before."

She finally turned back to Morty after hesitating for a moment, a sly smile on her face. It looked off to Morty but he barely had time to register it before Bailey asked him, "Now, did we come here to be sad or to have some fun?"

Morty paused, uncertain for a second, and then returned her smile.

The next hour was spent with the two friends having a great time, chowing down on pepperoni pizza and knocking down pins. Bailey seemed to have forgotten their earlier conversation completely as she laughed as happily and bubbly as ever. Morty shrugged it off. As long as Bailey was now happy and having fun, that's what mattered to him. He certainly wasn't going to bring the previous topic up again.

He watched Bailey score a couple turkeys during their games - finally realizing what that term meant -, while the majority of his own turns wound up with his ball in the gutter.

Bailey chuckled in amusement. The kid wasn't kidding when he said he wasn't much of a bowler. But they both laughed about it and continued enjoying themselves. When Morty stepped up to bowl once more, Bailey quickly approached him and whispered into his ear.

Morty nodded, focusing as he straightened and swung his arm, releasing the ball. They both stood and watched, Morty biting his lower lip, as his ball collided with the pins and got him his first strike.

"Yes!" Morty cheered, throwing both fists into the air.

"Woo hoo!" Bailey cheered for him.

"Thank you, Bailey! That was awesome!"

"No problem, Morty! It just takes some practice, that's all. I'll turn you into a pro in no time." She winked at him.

Morty suddenly heard a familiar sound behind him the same moment he saw Bailey's eyes look past him and widen in both fear and surprise.

 _'No. Not now!"_

Morty resisted the urge to roll his eyes out of frustration as he turned around to see his grandpa stroll through the portal on the wall.

"Hey, Morty! I need your help, quick!" Rick announced, looking from Morty to Bailey and then back again.

"Now? Rick, I'm kind of in the middle of something here," Morty replied quietly to the old man in annoyance, gesturing behind himself toward Bailey.

Rick opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted.

"WHAT?! Morty, do you know this guy?" Bailey chimed in, her voice fearful.

Morty sighed and took a step to the side so he could see both Bailey and Rick. He really didn't want to have to deal with this situation right now, not when he and Bailey were having such a good time. He just hoped Bailey wouldn't run off and be completely weirded out after having Rick introduced to her. He also hoped Rick wouldn't come across as a total dick toward her, for starters.

"Uh, Bailey, this is Rick, my grandpa. Rick, this is Bailey."

"Your grandpa?"

Rick met Bailey's wide-eyed gaze as she spoke. For a split second, Morty thought he saw Rick glare at Bailey before his face became stoic once again. Morty furrowed his eyebrows questioningly but kept his mouth shut.

"Hi! Heard so much about you. Pleasure to meet you. All that jazz. Great talk! Mind if I borrow Morty here for a quick minute? Ok, great, thanks!" The old man spoke so fast Morty wasn't sure Bailey even had a chance to absorb any of the words. She appeared to stunned to reply.

Rick reached forward and impatiently tugged Morty's arm toward the portal.

"Come on, Morty. Gotta recover some fire crystals from Dimension five-four-three and I need your help bringing them all back home."

"Hold on, Rick. Can't it wait a little bit?" Morty asked as he took a firm step back, bringing Rick a step backward as well. "I mean, I still have to return my bowling shoes."

Rick turned and scowled at him. "What, you think a fancy-ass place like this really cares about a single pair of missing shoes, Morty? It doesn't matter, this shit can't wait. You'll have time for your little friend here later, this must be done now or never!"

"Wait. You're going to another dimension? Th-that's possible?" Bailey finally blurted out.

"Yeah, yeah. Mind blowing isn't it? Now run along!" Rick snapped back at her before tugging Morty's arm again. "Let's get out of here, Morty!"

"Alright, fine. Bye, Bailey. I'll ex-" Morty got cut off as he disappeared through the swirling green light with his grandfather.

"Wha- wait!" Bailey cried out, taking a step forward but stopping when the light vanished.

She looked around wildly, seeing if anyone else just saw what she did. If anyone nearby had seen it, however, they had just gone back to minding their own business.

Bailey turned and stared in astonishment, touching the spot on the wall where the duo walked through. How the hell was that even possible? Dimensional travel? That's only the sort of stuff you see and hear about on TV shows. It wasn't real, she knew that, and yet she'd just witnessed it.

What exactly did she just see and how were Morty and his grandpa able to do it? She found herself smiling as she touched the wall, feeling intrigued and in awe. She'd already found Morty to be an interesting boy, and now he was even more so to her. He and his grumpy old grandfather.

 _'I've got to find out more about these guys!'_


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Bailey got to school and gathered up her books. She leaned against her locker, which was two down from Morty's. She looked up and down the hallway but saw no sign of her friend.  
 _'Strange'_ , she thought. Surely, he would've shown up by now. He had arrived a good amount of time before class started the previous day.  
She checked her phone but Morty hadn't sent her a message. He hadn't spoken a word to her since he'd left her at the bowling alley. When her grandma came to pick her up, she had to come up with a lame excuse for why her friend had to leave early. But she had at least hoped to hear from Morty, to just give her a little tidbit as to what happened after he left.  
 _'I'm sure he's just running late... I wonder if he had to run off to another dimension first and maybe he'll he tell me about it later.'_  
She had so many questions for him after what had happened yesterday. First and foremost was why Morty hadn't told her about being able to travel through dimensions beforehand. That would've been so cool to know earlier, - but it was also just as cool to witness. She had been left in awe after seeing him and his grandfather leave through a portal.  
She wanted to know more but also wondered if he would even tell her any more. Why had he been hiding all of this? Did he not want other people to know what he and his grandpa did- whatever it was they were doing? Was it that he thought she might find it to be weird?  
She wondered if they were going on any kinds of crazy missions or if they were simply messing around out there as Morty played hooky from school.  
Bailey abruptly interrupted her racing mind and observed her classmates passing by with curiosity. Was there anyone else at the school who maybe knew about Morty and his grandpa's interdimensional outings? Has he ever randomly shown up in the hallways to take Morty with him through that portal-looking thing like he had back at the bowling alley?  
How were they even able to do something like that?  
Bailey groaned in frustration as she tried to wrap her head around it all, earning herself a couple questioning looks from fellow students as she made her way to her first class.  
She looked down at her phone... still no new messages.  
Putting her phone away, Bailey sighed. She resigned herself to the fact that she knew Morty would turn up sooner or later, whether it be today or tomorrow. Then, maybe, she'd get answers to at least some of her questions.

….

"See you guys tomorrow!" Mrs. Barclay called out merrily as the students exited the room at the sound of the bell.  
Bailey found herself walking out of class with a couple students named - if she remembered correctly-, Trisha and Ethan. They both seemed to be more in the popular crowd here at the school and Bailey was trying to keep her cool while with them. It wasn't too often she was noticed by the cool kids and usually she preferred it that way, but still.  
"It's nice to meet you, Bailey," Trisha stated sweetly, smiling as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. "You did great in that debate."  
"Yeah, you really know your stuff," Ethan added, looking very laid back.  
"Heh. What can I say? I guess I'm kind of a history nerd," Bailey replied with a sheepish smile as she brushed her hair behind her ear. And it was true, both history and science were her stronger suites.  
Trisha laughed. "Yeah the nerd part is definitely true-".  
Bailey frowned.  
"- but it did help us win the debate, and we got the chocolate chip cookies," Trisha finished, waving her prized cookie in her hand.  
Ethan put an arm around Trisha's shoulder, that same laid back smile on his face was now starting to irritate Bailey. She thought he looked like he was high as a kite.  
"You gave us a solid, girl! All your hard work back there really paid off for all of us."  
Bailey had to stop herself from glaring at him in annoyance.  
It truly had fallen on her shoulders to carry them through the debate because, as it seemed, they knew nothing about the topic of discussion.  
If it hadn't been for Bailey, her team surely would've failed. She could only hope they would educate themselves on the topics in class and not depend on her to get them through other future class activities - but she now found herself doubting that thought. What reason would they have to study these things when they had good old Bailey to help them out?  
Plastering a big fake smile on her face, Bailey simply responded with, "Glad I could help."  
"Just make sure you're on our team again next time, OK? Byyye," Trisha said with a small wave as she and Ethan turned and walked away.  
Bailey scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest as she rolled her eyes.  
"Ugh!" She muttered a couple curse words under her breath as she walked to her locker to put her books away before she'd head to the cafeteria.  
She glanced once more over at Morty's locker; there was still no trace of him. She was really starting to miss Morty already, wishing he was here for her to just vent and talk to. He'd surely find a way to make her smile right about now.  
 _'When is he coming back?'_ She frowned as she made her way down the hallway, preparing to eat her lunch alone.

….

Rick strode out of the portal and into the garage, with Morty following right behind him, carrying a box of bright orange crystals that had a red aura around them.  
"Go ahead and put those fire crystals on my workbench, Morty. I'll take a quick look at them and make sure they're all functional."  
"Sure thing, Rick," Morty responded as he set the box down. He wasn't sure what Rick meant by the crystals being 'functional' but chose not to question it. He most likely wouldn't be able to wrap his head around Rick's explanation about them or what their use is anyway.  
He quietly exhaled in relief as he looked down at the last of the crystals they'd retrieved.  
He and Rick came upon an area abundant with these things that his grandpa had been obsessing over. He hadn't told Morty what exactly he needed them for, only that they were important for a current project - not that Morty could keep track of all of Rick's garage projects he had going on at that time.  
After leaving the bowling alley, the two of them had stepped through the portal and into a dark, desolate world that gave off a creepy vibe with it's purple sky and blue clouds.  
Unbothered by the strange world's characteristics, Rick had immediately started walking while Morty stayed close behind and eyed the whole area around them with both awe and uncertainty.  
As he'd walked, Morty's mind wandered back to Bailey. Remembering her stunned face as he'd left her at the bowling alley, he cringed and silently hoped she wasn't too pissed off at him for just up and leaving her.  
They were having such a good time and then it just had to be ruined. Morty wanted to go back to Bailey, but there was no way in hell Rick was going to take him back there now, not when they must be so close to his precious crystals. So, unfortunately, Bailey had to wait.  
He and Rick walked for hours until they reached a towering rock wall. Rick was taken aback, not recalling there being a wall there before. The two of them searched the wall for any clue as to how to get by or if the crystals might've been in the wall.  
Morty had finally spotted a small opening near the bottom of the wall that he could fit through. Rick had him crawl through to see what he might find, and he returned minutes later with a handful of the crystals.  
They went back to the garage to grab pickaxes and spent a good chunk of the night digging into the wall to where the crystals were.  
The duo went back and forth, collecting several boxes full of the crystals and bringing them back home until Morty finally grew tired. He kept bringing up having school the next day, which annoyed Rick immensely.  
So, at some point Rick left Morty at home so he could get some sleep and stop whining while Rick went back to the other dimension for one more scavenging trip for the night.  
After Morty had woken up later in the morning, Rick talked him into one more excursion of collecting crystals before Morty went to school.

Now here Morty was, bringing the last of the crystals back around the time lunch would be starting back at Harry Herpson High. The teen looked up at the clock on the wall, which had recently been fixed, to see that he still had about twenty minutes left for lunch if he left now.  
That would give him some time to go find Bailey in the cafeteria and catch up a little with her before the next class session began. He wanted to fill her in on details about his galactic and interdimensional travels with his grandfather. He owed her that much at least.  
"Hey, uh, Rick? Y-you mind getting me to school now? I should go find Bailey, grab some lunch and prepare for math class."  
"Pssh. Wh-why exactly do you have to prepare for math class?" Rick asked rhetorically as he inspected the box of fire crystals in front of him. "You're all just gonna scroll through your textbooks, yell out your moronic, incorrect answers to the simplest questions and then mindlessly copy down equations the teacher already knows you're all too stupid to even comprehend."  
"Jesus..."  
"Hey it's the truth, isn't it?" Rick shrugged, not really expecting an answer. "But it's not really math class you're looking to get back to." He looked at Morty with a knowing smirk.  
Morty smiled sheepishly as he averted his gaze, feeling like a deer caught in the headlights.  
"Heh. Yeah, well, I- she's just-"  
"Say no more, Morty. I get it. She seems great, and we wouldn't want you to lose your blossoming potential romance from all of this adventuring now, would we?" Rick grabbed the portal gun and began typing in Morty's school coordinates. "Now to get you back to your prosperous academic life and to your Jessica replacement. We all can't wait to see where these roads lead to."  
Morty frowned, noting the sarcasm.  
Morty walked up to the swirling green portal on the wall as Rick returned to his workbench.  
He heard the old man call out "See ya", before he stepped into the portal and out into the school hallway just outside the cafeteria.

A couple of his classmates passing by looked at him as he left the portal and began talking in hushed voices with each other as they walked on. Most -if not all-, of the kids here were pretty much used to him arriving at school portal-style by this point in time. That didn't necessarily mean that they didn't find it to be weird or freaky, though.  
Morty peeked his head into the cafeteria and scanned toward the back of the room for where Bailey might be. He spotted her sitting alone at the same table she approached him at the first day they'd officially met. He smiled and began walking toward her.  
He couldn't wait to talk with her again, his one friend in this entire school.  
 _'Did she miss me as much as I missed her?'_  
Bailey's eyes drifted from her lunch tray up to Morty as he got closer. Her eyes widened in surprise upon seeing him and she smiled warmly. That smile never failed to make his heart flutter, and it seemed to answer his question.  
Bailey leaned forward in her seat as Morty sat down across from her.  
"Hey, Bailey!"  
"Morty, it's so good to see you! Where have you been?" She leaned forward in her seat.  
"On some crazy planet in the middle of nowhere," He responded excitedly. When Bailey's eyes widened in interest, Morty went on. "It's- it's kind of a long story, but my grandpa and I had to leave to go find these weird crystal things that he needed to get." He frowned, his expression changing to an apologetic look. "I'm really sorry I just left you back there by the way."  
She gave him a small, reassuring smile. "It's OK, I just had to come up with some baloney story to tell my grandma. But you've just got to tell me more about you and your grandpa- I'm seriously dying to know everything and I've got so many questions. How was he able to conjure up that... like, portal thing?"  
Morty blinked, feeling almost stumped for where to begin. But he supposed he'd start with the basics.  
"Ok. So, uh, my grandpa Rick is a genius scientist who's figured out how to travel through space to other planets. He-he invented this device that allows him to visit different dimensions through a portal, and he's always going to these dimensions and planets to get stuff."  
"And you get to go with him to all these places?"  
"Yeah, most of the time. I've gone on a bunch of adventures with him. We've seen so many crazy things."  
"Wow. So, what exactly is in these other dimensions? What have you guys found on other planets? Aliens?"  
Morty was thrilled by how excited she was getting from all of this. He'd found most people usually weren't this interested and would just respond with a casual "ok" or "cool" before being told any further details. It was nice to have someone ask more questions and be so keen to hear about his and Rick's adventures and findings.  
Morty went on to tell her what he knew regarding some of the other dimensions and about the plethora of various aliens he'd seen on other planets. Bailey sat there starry eyed and soaked it all in, mesmerized. She asked quite a few questions that Morty tried to answer to the best of his ability.  
"And your grandpa Rick just has all this high tech stuff... in your family's garage?" She raised a dumbfounded eyebrow.  
"Yeah, that-that's where he's all set up."  
Then they were interrupted by the bell.  
"Ah geez, I forgot to get lunch." Morty frowned, disappointed, and he looked to his left to grab his backpack. Then he realized he never did grab it off the counter in the kitchen. "Ah man, and I forgot my backpack? Got to be kidding me!" He ran a frustrated hand through his hair.  
Bailey furrowed her eyebrows briefly as she looked like she was pondering something while staring at the table.  
"Morty?" She asked hesitantly.  
"Yeah?"  
"...How about we skip math class and we go back to your place?" She looked at him, her expression reluctant.  
Morty immediately blushed as he stiffened. "Um, what? Why?"  
She wanted to go home with him?! His mind automatically visualized the two of them at his house, in his room, sitting on his bed...  
Morty frantically steered his thoughts away from the direction they were heading toward. There was zero chance that was how she meant it anyway.  
"I know, I know, it's a crazy thought. But I've just got to see this stuff for myself because it sounds incredible! I just... it blows my mind what you and your grandpa can do. Besides, wouldn't you rather have fun showing me the cool gadgets you guys have than see Mr. Goldenfold go through another emotional breakdown in the middle of class?"  
"Y-yeah, I've got to say that last outburst of his was a pretty weird one, even for him." Morty replied, rubbing his hand on the back of his head.  
"I still don't understand what was up with that voodoo doll in his drawer."  
Morty and Bailey both grimaced at that memory, pretty sure they didn't really want to know more.  
"Come on, Morty. Please? Just this once? We'll make it quick so that we're not gone for too long." Bailey clasped her hands together on the table in front of her.  
Morty paused. He really did want to show her the cool gadgets Rick made, but... what if they got there and Rick was still at home? He most likely was there and, if so, there was no way he would just let Morty bring some girl to their house and show her all of Rick's projects.  
But at the same time, Morty really wanted to impress Bailey and show her what she wanted to see. He could already picture her ecstatic face upon seeing all of the projects in the garage, especially if he could show her the galaxy projector. A girl like her would love that. He didn't want to have to say no to her and wind up seeing her so disappointed.  
Maybe they could just sneak in to check and see if the coast was clear, for starters. If it wasn't and somebody -particularly Rick-, was home, then they'd bail and save the grand tour for another day. They should easily be able to get in and get out without detection if they were careful and quiet about it, right? Easy peasy...  
Morty frowned slightly, feeling a little skeptical. But when his gaze once again met Bailey's, he knew he couldn't resist at least giving it a try.  
After letting out a quiet, shaky breath, Morty smiled at her, hiding his nervousness. "A-alright, yeah, let's do it."

….


End file.
